DIGC330 Week 2: State of Play

State of Play (2013) takes us on a journey through the lives of South Korean pro gamers, the film sheds a new perspective on a pop culture often overlooked in western media. The director Steven Dhoedt has gone on an autoethnographic journey, creating a new foundation of knowledge surrounding the sport. We can see this through a series of answers he provides on an online Reddit forum

He draws attention to the cultural differences which create a trustworthy transparency to his work and notes the experiences he has had with East-Asia, which would develop a framework of knowledge influencing the style of documentary. We can see how his perspective shifts and he wants to portray these gamers in a raw reliable light.

After watching the film I was very much drawn to the director’s relationship with pro gaming as he is not South Korean but from Belguim. This quote from the reading also resonates with me and I think drives Steven’s work to better understand different aspects of our world, and how international popular culture shapes our society as a whole not just nationally.

E-sports challenges traditional South Korean culture, however, the same values are applied as we see in the documentary, these kids are pushed by coaches and parents, and must also excel in school. It is a highly competitive society, and the audience pushing these kids to be the very best pro gamer.